Semisubmersible war-ship.



, UnigrED sTATEs rArENT oEEioE-f- SHERIDAN D. sIivtMoNs AND HENRY AMEING, or NEW YORK, it. Y. e

, sEMisUBMEEsIBLE WAR-SHIP.

To all 'whom t may concern.' Y 1 j Be it known that we, SHERrDAN D. STM- MoNs and HENRY AMLING, citizens of the United States, and residents of the city of New York, borough of the Bronx, in the county of Bronx and State of NewYork, yhave invented a new and Improved Semisubmersible Var-Ship, of which the follow'- ing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to naval craft and in certain aspects is yof the Monitor` type, 'in that onlv the top of the hull andthe gun turret are visible. fifi-" ji -Theinvention has for 'one'of its'obiects to improve the construction of the hull so as to be mine and shell-proof,`due vto its special shaper'and thethickness of the walls 'of the hull. In shape the hull is of circu- 'lar cross section soy that shells or torpedoes striking the same will be easily deflected and impart only a glancing'blow. buteven where the impact is radial, the thickness of the walls of the hull is' such as to minimize the effect of the explosion. The hull is so constructedthat at the keel portion it -will be'of'maximum thickness so as to be protected from the explosion of mines, and the -hull Ydiminishes in thickness therefrom to the top. For instance. lthe keel portion may be two feet in thickness and the top or deck portion about one foot. The bow is pointed so as to not only reduce friction' in passing through the water, but it will serve as an 'eective ram. r i: "'{Sj Y '-lAnother 'object of the invention is the provision ot' a turret amidship, and extending upwardly through the turret is an elevatable observationtowcr tobe used in reconnoitering, and for raising and lowering this tower a pneumatic or other means may be employed in the form of a tube which normally constitutes a 'housing for the tower, and on the bottom of the tower is'a piston having a working' fit'in the -tube so that when air is supplied to the latter the piston is raised to effect the elevation of the conning tower.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a water-cooled bulkhead between the engine room and the remainder of the hull, so that transmission of heat from the engine room is prevented.

Vith such objects in view. and others which will appear as the description proceeds. the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of Specicationo! Letters Patent. l'Patented Dc. 14, 1915. Application med February 16,1915. serial rra-8,445. l"

parts Vwhich-will bes'et forth with parf ticularity in the 'followingfdescription and claims appended hereto. "1 In the accompanying"drawing, vwhich illustrates one embodiment of theinvention,

and wherein similar characters of reference t indicate corresponding parts: in all the views, Figure l is a side View of the boat; Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view with intermediate portions broken away; Fig. 3 isa sectional view on Ythe line l 3-i-i-3', Fig. 2, through the water-cooled bulkhead; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional 'View showing the .top of the conning tower in the position it occupies when lowered.

Vliteferring to the drawing, A. designates the hull of the boat, whiclrisso designed as vto be largely submerged so that only the upper part'of the hull and' the gun turret 1 willbe'above the water leveh.` In crosssection the hull is circular for the double i purpose of strength andof shell and tor.- pedo-proofness,` as thecurved4 surface acts to detlect'shells or torpedoes, unless the impact be radial, and inthis case the' thickness of the hull is effective in minimizing the dei r;

shown iii-Fig. 8 the hull is 'ofmaximum thickness at the bottom, say about two feet thick. and the'metal ofthe hull-diminishes in thickness and is of minimumV thickness at the top, say aboutfone foot thick. The

Vbow 2 is pointed so as to be used as a'ram against an enemys crafts." It willfbe understood that the hull will'be` made of layers of sheet metal 'riveted together but 'no attempt has been made to illustrate this construction. KA-, v 1 y we @di i 'The 'turret l is rotatably' mountedljin a c1rcular coping 3 and 1s eouipped with guns 4. This coping 3 is round. and being conical and of considerable thickness will effectively resist shells fired against it. The top 5 of the turret is rounded and ot' thick metal to resist the force ot' shells and bombs.

Coincident with the axis of the turret 1 is a conning tower G which is normally lowered and capable of being elevated in any suitable manner. In the present instance the tower is normallv contained in a tube 7 and the bottom of the tower constitutes a piston 8, and by admitting air through a valve pipe 9 or equivalent means, the piston Will be raised and carry with it the'conning tower, there being a platform 10 at the top of the tower. 11, which, when the tower is lowered, closes the opening 12 in the turret top 5,as shown in Fig. 4. The platform can be reachedV by a ladder 13, as shown in Fig. 4, arranged Within or on the tower, andsearchlights 14L are provided for observation or other purposes. The tower tube 7 effectively forms a support for a helical staircase 15, whereby the various decks or floors can be reached.

u The ammunition for the guns will be stored in suitable racks 16, and an elevator 17 of any approved type is employed for raising the ammunition and shells to the turret. 'In the stem portion ofsthe boat la torpedo tube 18 Will be arranged for firing vthrough a suitable door 24 in the bulkhead.

The fuel is contained in a suitable tank 25 isolated from the engine room, so that danger from explosion is minimized, and this tank is connected by a pipe 26 which extends through ythe bulkhead and'is conneeted with the engine or turbine. The boat is guided bv a lstern rudder 27 equipped with a suitable steering gear including a rod 28. .l f i a@ ,j.

- From the foregoing description'taken in 'connection with the laccompanying drawwww ing, the advantages of the construction and method of operationwill be readily understood by those skilled in the art to Which the invention appertains, and while kWe have described the principle of operation, together with the structure which We now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, We desire to have it understood that the Over the platform is a cover structure shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when de- `sired as are within the-.scope of the appended claims.

"""Ha\'1ing.1`v thus described our invention, we 'claim as new and desire to secure by Letters in` its sides at points vabove the coping for cannon toproject therethrough, thereof of the turret vbeing of maximum thicknessat the middle and tapering to the periphery, with thetop surfaceconvex, the top ofthe turret' being. 'of larger.diameter than' the body of the turret, wherebythe peripheral portion of the top will overhang the openings in the walls to prevent projectileslentering theturret.` 3. Anaval craft of the partially submerged typeromprising a hull.,.'agun turret, aiconning tower elevatable through the turret, a tube normally inclosing the tower, a piston' tting the tube andconnected with the bottom of the toWer,'y and means for admitting fluid. to the tube for 4raising ythe fpiston'and therebythetower. U

f'f4. Af naval craft of kthe merged type comprisingja hull, a :gun turret, 'a conning tower elevatable through :the turret,`a tube normally inclosing the tower, 4a piston lfittingy the( tube and connected .with the^bottom ofthe tower, meansfor admitting'luid to the tube for raising the piston and thereby the towerfand ahelical staircase surrounded by the' tube. Y 1.- i'l In testimony whereof We have signedour names to. this specification in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses. f La.. :.-gufy-gf FSHERIDAN D. sIMMousg .Qf .HENRY .AMLNGf f'd/Vitnesses: 1 1 I :1.1 CHATTIN BRADWAY, 1; GEORGE H. EMsLm. ,f 1.4.,

'A :n s-.51% Copies of this patent may be obtained for 'five cents each, by addressing the f! Commissioner of Patents,

' 1 Washingt 

